QUEBEC CITY – In his first title defense, Jason Moloney was dragged into deep water against Saúl Sánchez. Moloney responded by showing Sanchez how well he could swim.
Moloney (27-2, 19 KOs) retained the WBO bantamweight title for the first time with a majority decision victory over a determined Sanchez (20-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday at the Center Videotron in Quebec City , Canada. The scores were 116-112 for Moloney on two cards and 114-114 even on the third, but numbers alone don’t tell the story of a fight that may end up contending for Fight of the Year honors in 12 months.
Moloney, 33, of New South Wales, Australia, was forced to work the 2,160 seconds he was in the ring against Sanchez, 26, of Pacoima, California, to retain the title he won last May with a victory by majority decision over Vincent Astrolabio. .
“Saúl Sánchez is a warrior. “I’m proud to be the WBO bantamweight champion and I was going to do whatever it took to keep my title,” Moloney said afterward.
“The era of ‘Mayhem’ is just beginning. And the fans here in Quebec City were incredible. “I felt like I did enough in the last few rounds to retain my title.”
IT WAS 36 MINUTES.
We have an early FOTY contender in 2024 👑 pic.twitter.com/D3HdxXbcuv
– Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 14, 2024
Sanchez, who is trained by Manny Robles, got off to a fast start, taking the fight to the reigning champion with strong body shots that made Moloney uncomfortable. The urgency increased a few notches in the third round, when a cut believed to have been caused by a headbutt opened up over Moloney’s right eye, making him an attractive target for Sanchez’s uppercuts.
Moloney responded to the adversity in championship fashion, switching tactics from counterpunching to backing up Sanchez, pushing him into the ropes in the fourth and fifth and stifling his power. Sanchez never allowed Moloney to breathe for a moment, and continued to make him work and land left hooks and uppercuts whenever Moloney stopped moving.
Moloney found a place for left hooks in return, landing a number of bombs that would have broken most other fighters at 118. Moloney finally began to take control of the fight in the eighth, when hooks to the body undermined Sanchez’s resistance, forcing him to ropes, where Moloney opened up with combinations that spun Sanchez’s head back.
Sanchez showed he wasn’t ready to hold out with a strong rebound in the ninth, but Moloney made a strong statement at the end of the tenth, attacking Sanchez with a flashy combination against the ropes to solidify that it was his stanza. . The two traded the lead for the next two rounds, although two of the judges gave Moloney both rounds, securing victory for the champion.
CompuBox punching statistics showed that Sanchez (362 of 897 punches) outboxed and outboxed Moloney (297 of 824 punches) over the course of twelve rounds.
Moloney, who is ranked No. 1 at 118 pounds by The Ring, could have his next defense in his home country, according to a Top Rank source. ESPN reported that Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos are finalizing a deal for the vacant IBF lightweight title in April or May, and Moloney may be scheduled to perform on that card, should he come to fruition.
“I would love to defend my world title ‘Down Under’ in front of my Australian fans,” Moloney said.
The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for Sanchez, whose two previous losses came via split decision.
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark School of Journalism Class of 2020. You can contact him at [email protected].
Share This Event
